


Simons

by thomasjeffersonsmacaroni



Series: The Other 51 [47]
Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell, Lord of the Flies, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Gen, M/M, Time Travel, gay simon crossover, it's complicated - Freeform, just read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-08-30 16:03:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8539489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni/pseuds/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni
Summary: A boy who was supposed to be dead, an ex-magician living in modern London with his boyfriend and best friend, and an American exchange student walk into the capital of England and stay there for half of a year. This is the story.





	

**Author's Note:**

> All right, here's the thing.  
> I was editing this on April 28 during a revising binge, and I got to Chapter 14, which was literally a short paragraph long. And I realized that 14 chapters and 7K words is super disproportionate, so this is getting the Purgatory's Angels treatment - that is, being put into one long chapter.  
> *EDIT AS OF 5/26/17* THIS SHIT IS DONE!

**Harrington**

_He had been tired, weary, hungry, and he had come down the mountain ready to tell everyone about the beast. And he had been met with fire and chants and extreme, extreme loudness._

He floated through the water.

_"Look! The beast!" someone had screamed, but he had been too drained of energy to tell who it was._

He floated through the water.

_And they had come upon him, with their spears, even Piggy and Sam and Eric and golden Ralph, and they had knocked him down and stabbed him and continued to chant._

He floated through the water.

_"Kill the beast! Kill the beast! Kill the beast!"_

He floated through the water.

_There was pain, so much pain, so, so much pain, no matter how much he screamed for it to stop._

He floated through the water.

_And then there was nothing._

The water took him far and far away, body lapping in the waves, long hair spread out, skin withering. It was not the normal dying process, no, unless most dead people were killed and tossed into the ocean to the fish. And it would never be good enough.

_A loud scream from ashore. Many loud screams over the course of two days. A stray ship, drawn by the smoke rising from the burning forest. The shattered golden boy leading a row of painted faces. And then, nothing._

And Simon would never know.

_But then..._

Everything began to rewind, some sort of magic flowing through the air, a magic that no science could even begin to explain. Skin reformed, bright eyes reopening, body floating back to the shore. It took a day, and when it was over, young Simon sat on the sandy beach, rubbing his eyes in confusion.

He had  _died._ He had been stabbed, and everything had been pain, and his vision had become black. But now he was here, and it was the middle of the day, and he was sitting on the sand, and the waves were washing over him, and  _everyone was gone._

 _Maybe they hid,_ Simon thought.  _For some reason._ He stood up on still-weak legs, shaking, and began to walk around the island, slowly realizing as he looked in every single possible spot that everyone was gone. They had all left while he was away, while he was  _dead,_ and no one had brought him with them.

 _I'm all alone._ He had arrived to his little mat, and he was staring at the pig's head that had fallen over, unable to continue looking but unable to look away. He was dizzy, as if he was about to faint, but he continued to stand and look down. A rhythm ran through Simon's head, like the beating of a drum.  _No Jack. No Maurice. No Bill. No Roger. No Robert. No Piggy. No Samneric._

 _No Ralph._ Ralph was gone,  _his_ Ralph, beautiful golden Ralph, who had smiled at him and helped him with the shelters and been his friend and murdered him, but it was okay because he didn't know that he wasn't the beast. Didn't know, didn't know, didn't know.

Simon's eyes began to sting, and he collapsed onto his knees, forehead against the fallen stick, and began to sob.

_I'm all alone now. All alone._

Simon stood up after forever and, as if drawn somehow, walked to the ocean and the bathing pools. It was only then that he noticed that the main pool was shining, even glittering, and he felt something that drew him to it and forced him to kneel down and look at it.

His own tired reflection was visible in the pool's waters, which was weird, because it had never been reflective before. And there was some sort of light, shimmering and whispering his name and telling him that if he stepped in, he would get everything that he ever wanted.

 _Can you imagine?_ he heard from deep inside, and although at first he thought that he was having one of his fits, this felt realer than any fit he had ever had, even the pig's head from a lifetime ago.

_Everything you've ever wanted._

And Simon thought about how the only thing he ever wanted was someone by his side, and he took a deep breath, put his foot into the pool's depth, and instantly felt himself being sucked down a vortex of terror, unable to scream for fear of drowning.

 

He awoke after what felt like less than a second, and the first thing he registered was that he was still underwater, and below him, touching the bottom of his feet, wasn't sand or dirt, but some sort of hard rock. Hesitantly, he touched it with his hands, pushed himself up, and looked around.

The second thing he registered was that he was inside of a fountain.

Water was streaming down, making his hair and face wet, and he shied away from it by stepping out and staggering over to a bench. Thankfully, there was no one there to wonder how an eleven-year-old boy just suddenly appeared inside of a fountain, and no one to bother him, and he sat down and tried to breathe and assess his situation.

The third thing he registered was that the fountain was glimmering slightly, just that the bathing pool had, but the glimmer faded away as he continued to watch it. Somehow, he knew that whatever he had stepped into, there was no going back now.

The fourth thing he registered was that this place was nothing like anything he had ever known. Even London, where he lived, was never like this. Wherever he was, it was loud and futuristic, cars honking and people talking and bright neon billboards flashing. Everything was too much, and he felt his heart race and his vision cloud. He needed to get away, to go somewhere quiet and roll up into a ball on the ground and cover himself up with a blanket and  _breathe,_ but he didn't know where to go, and breathing was the last thing on his mind right now.  _Too much, too much, too much..._

"Hey."

A voice cut through everything, and when Simon looked up, he saw a tall bronze-haired and slightly freckled man by the side of an even taller man with dark hair and pale skin.

"Are you okay?" the bronze-haired man asked, stretching a hand forward. "Do you need help? I have a phone, I can call your parents, I can drive you to the hospital. Are you all right? Please just talk to me." He sounded frantic, and the pale one put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

Simon looked at both of them. Yes, he had been taught to never be alone with strangers. But these people had given him the first kindness that he had gotten in this mysterious new city, so he decided that in this situation, his parents, wherever they were, probably wouldn't mind.

He took the hand of the bronze-haired man, leaned against him, and stood up, feeling genuine comfort for the first time in days as he looked around at the sights of the city.

 

**Snow**

The hustle and bustle and noise of London in the summer, tourists snapping pictures and buses honking and everyone moving around, was oftentimes surprising for a newcomer, but for Simon Snow and his boyfriend, Baz, it was the usual. Unlike the fact that Baz was finally free from his studies, and the two had time to walk around London together and take in its sights.

"I missed you," Simon murmured, leaning his head against the shoulder of the much taller man, as they walked down the all-familiar streets.

"I missed you, too." Although open affection was uncharacteristic of their relationship, neither of them cared, because it had been months since they had seen each other in real life for a prolonged period of time. Now was a time for relaxation, for freedom from the magical world that they lived in, for freedom from magic in general.

Definitely not for a young boy with long black hair drenched from head to toe and staring ahead on a bench like he had seen a ghost.

"What's going on with that kid over there?" Simon asked his boyfriend in a whisper, looking over at the boy with concern.

"I don't know," Baz whispered back. "He seems harmless, though. No danger. I've got my wand at the ready just in case, but..."

Simon freed his hand from his grip, walked over to the bench, and caught the boy's attention with a quick, "Hey."

The boy looked up, still shivering, and Simon continued. "Are you okay? Do you need help? I have a phone, I can call your parents, I can drive you to the hospital. Are you all right? Please just talk to me." By now, Simon was panicking; the boy wasn't responding to him at all, as if sizing him up and seeing if he posed a threat. Baz sensed his nervousness and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, which only helped a little bit.

After a couple of seconds, the boy grabbed his outstretched hand, stood up, and leaned against him.

"I'm Simon," he said in a small, meek voice.

Simon - the big one - looked down at him and smiled reassuringly. "I'm Simon, too. You can call me Snow, because that's my last name."

The small Simon nodded. "Thank you for helping me, sir." His voice was still quiet, as if he was shy to speak any louder, and Simon Snow squatted down so that they were on the same level.

"Do you know your parents' telephone number, Simon?" he asked. "I can call them right now."

Small Simon nodded, and when Simon Snow took his cell phone out of his pocket, he looked at it strangely before rattling off a list of digits. However, when Simon Snow called the number, it was deactivated, and he looked down at the boy strangely.

"Are you sure you got the number right? It says that it's not used."

"I'm sure," said Simon. "My parents made me memorize it."

"Well, it's the wrong number," said Baz, who had up to now been silent. "So you must have gotten it wrong. Try to remember the real one, okay?"

"What's that?" small Simon asked suddenly, pointing at the cell phone still in Simon Snow's hand.

 _What the fuck?_ "That's...my cell phone," said Snow testily, and he saw Baz reach into his pocket for his wand.

"I didn't know that you could just carry a phone around in your pocket like that," said Simon. "I thought you could only use them when you were inside your house."

Already, Snow was suspicious, gears shifting inside his head as he tried to figure out what the reason was behind this lack of knowledge. "Tell me, Simon. What year is it?"

"1954," said small Simon without hesitation or any hint of a joking tone, and Snow almost dropped his phone in shock.

"Simon, it's 2016. I don't know how, but somehow you got transported to the future."

"Can you tell me exactly what happened before we found you?" Baz asked, kneeling down, though he also had to bend forward in order for the boy to hear him properly.

"I was on an island, and I was sitting on the beach, and everyone was gone, and I went to the bathing pool, and it was glowing and telling me to step inside, so I did. And then I came out through this fountain and went to the bench." Simon was shaking nervously, and Snow grabbed his hand to try to calm him down.

Baz looked over at his boyfriend curiously. "I don't know what kind of spell would do that. Do you?"

Snow shook his head. "Whatever it is, I don't think he's lying. I'm sorry, Simon, but if this is true, then your parents probably aren't here. Why don't we take you back to our house, and you can stay with us until you find someone to take you in?"

"They probably won't," Baz whispered once they had stood up, and Snow grabbed Simon by a slender hand. "I mean, who would believe a stranger when they said that this random kid that we brought in is their brother or nephew or whatever?"

"You're right," sighed Snow. "But we can try. I mean, we can't have Penny and the two of us and him and that exchange student in the house at the same time."

"Oh, speaking of," said Baz, now unafraid to speak out loud. "You know how we sent their principal an e-mail a week ago, with the list of questions that we had? Did he ever answer you?"

Snow shook his head. "Not yet. I e-mailed a second time, and the secretary said that he had a lot of stuff to do and people to handle, so he didn't have the time."

Baz nodded. "I heard that Shady Creek wasn't exactly progressive, being in Georgia and all. I just hope our Simon isn't homophobic."

"Didn't we specify that we don't want him to be in our application?" Snow asked. He remembered writing something to that effect.

"True, but maybe he's one of those people who's just 'not comfortable' with gay people, or doesn't want us talking about it, but won't call us slurs or something. I hate those kinds of people."

Suddenly, he leaned over Snow to look at small Simon.

"You're from the 1950s, you said?"

The boy nodded meekly. "Yes, sir."

"Now, Simon Snow and I here are in a relationship. We are in love, and we are dating. You might know what 'dating' is, because in your time, it was between a boy and a girl."

Snow looked at Baz nervously as his face grew from polite explanation to borderline anger. But he continued.

"In your time, you may have been told that a boy couldn't love a boy romantically, or a girl couldn't love a girl romantically. Here, in 2016, I'm telling you that that's _not true_. People can love people of the same sex. And Simon and I love each other. And if you have a problem with that, then our apartment is _not open_ to you. No matter what. You got that?"

Small Simon looked terrified; his eyes widened, and he clutched Snow's hand in a death grip as he nodded. "Yes, sir. I don't have a problem with that, not at all."

"Good." Baz stood back up, and Simon slowly began to recover his breath as Snow led the group into the direction of his and Penny's apartment that Baz was staying in temporarily.

Snow looked at Baz sternly.

"You're scaring the poor boy," he whispered. "I'm sure that he's a lovely person who will never hate us. And he needs our help."

Baz shrugged. "You never know. I didn't want to take any chances."

Suddenly he paused, expression turning from casual to genuinely nervous. "Even though we're going to be taking _a lot_ of chances when we take in Simon Spier."

 

**Spier**

_Bram <3: How far are you guys from the airport?_

_To: Bram <3: The GPS says an hour, but Mom wants to stop for another bathroom break, and we also have to wait for the plane to come._

_Bram <3: Ahhh I see_

_Bram <3: Have fun! I have chores to finish, so I'm going to have to go now. I love you <3 :)_

_To: Bram <3: I love you too <3_

Simon put his phone away and pulled out the book about London that he had been reading and re-reading for the past couple of weeks, ever since his name had appeared on the list of students that had won the lottery to study in London for a semester.

The entire school had gone crazy over it, Simon had told his family, especially the anglophile hipster types who posted shitty poetry on the Tumblr. Simon himself had been less so; it had been his mom who had told him to sign up so that he could "take in more culture," and even Alice had frantically Skyped him from college telling him that it would be "the greatest thing that he had ever experienced."

"Fine," Simon had said reluctantly, and he had put his name and student ID number into one of the huge labelled bowls in the school hallways. When his name was on the school announcement that declared the winners, he almost fell out of his chair in shock.

As the weeks leading up to the day that he had to leave weaned away, and as he got occasional e-mails from his exchange family, his reluctance turned to acceptance and even excitement. Simon Snow and his roommate Penny seemed like the kinds of people that he would like to associate himself with: funny, smart, and, most importantly, tolerant. Although he was never sure how to approach the question of whether or not they were homophobic, they were definitely not complete religious wingnuts.

Just as Simon was reading about the history of the London Eye, his phone gave two long buzzes - he had gotten another e-mail from Simon Snow.

_Simon Junior,_

_How are you doing? I don't think you have that long of a drive ahead of you, but road trips still suck if you don't have much to do. I can't believe you'll actually be able to see for sure whether or not I'm a murderer in just a day._

_Anyway, sorry for the short notice, but we've adopted a little kid. He was homeless, and we couldn't find his parents, so now he's living with us. And Baz, my boyfriend, is visiting for the summer, so it's going to be a pretty damn cramped house. I'm sorry._

_Funny thing is, the kid's name is also Simon, so I can't call you Simon Junior anymore. He calls me Snow, so you're Spier now, I guess._

_I hope you don't have much of a problem with this new development. Sorry again that we couldn't warn you earlier._

_Simon Senior (or Snow)_

"Did you get another e-mail?" Simon's mother asked from the driver's seat.

"Yeah. Apparently, they have a little kid living in the apartment now. And Simon Senior said that he has a boyfriend, so they're not homophobic."

"Oh, that's good. Why do they have a little kid, though?"

"Apparently he was homeless, and they couldn't find his parents or anyone else to take care of him."

"The poor boy," said Simon's mom, genuine concern in her eyes that could be seen in the rearview mirror. "I hope they take good care of him."

"Oh, Mom, you'll love this. His name is Simon. So there are going to be three Simons in the house when I show up."

Simon's mom laughed. "I wonder how long it'll be until you start confusing each other."

"They're already calling the oldest one Snow. I guess I'll be Spier, like at school."

"Mmm-hmm."

The next hour was filled with mostly silence, the next few after that with visas and passports and what seemed like endless security checks and waiting. Then, Simon kissed his mother good-bye, sent a quick text to his friends and boyfriend and a quick e-mail to Simon the elder, and boarded the plane to find his seat.

It was way in the back of the economy section, so far back that it wasn't even near a window, to his dismay. Thankfully, his greatest plane fear, a little kid behind him kicking his seat, hadn't come true, and the only other bad thing about his seating arrangement was a woman next to him who kept talking loudly to the guy in front of her, not allowing a single moment of peace for Simon to work on his summer homework.

But he was going to London.  _London._ The capital of fucking England, when he had never even been outside of Georgia ever during his life.

He took a deep breath, leaned against the wall next to his seat, and looked out of the window.

 

**Harrington**

 

Simon was in his guest room, absorbed in one of the many books that adorned the shelves, when Penelope Bunce came in, adjusting her glasses as she walked.

"Hey, Junior," she said, leaning against the door frame. She always called him Junior; she had confessed that just calling him Simon was weird when there was another Simon in the house.

"Hi, Penny." Simon looked up from his book and put it away with a bookmark.

"Oh, that's a good book. I always re-read it. Anyway, remember we were talking about Simon Spier, the exchange student who'll be coming over for a semester?"

Simon nodded. Snow and Baz had been talking about it more and more often leading up to the event, and they had even showed him pictures of the mysterious third Simon.

"We're going to pick him up this Friday, you remember. And we're going to take you with us, because we don't want to leave you home alone, and all of us want to come greet Simon Spier when he comes to us. That's okay with you, right? Because if it's not, then I'm sure we can arrange something with one of the neighbors. I just want you to be comfortable."

"No, it's fine," said Simon, even though he was shaking at the very thought of being around people. He didn't want to inconvenience the people who had been so kind to him. And besides, Spier seemed like the type of person who would understand his worry and not try to purposely overwhelm him or anything.

"All right." Penny stepped forward, sat down on the bed next to him, and wrapped him in a hug. She had been huggy with him, especially after he had broken down into tears telling them about how he had died. He supposed it was because he was the baby of the group, even though he had always been the adult of his siblings.

"Simon, you're going to be okay," she whispered into his ear. "I promise we won't let anyone hurt you. And remember, like I said, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. You can still back out."

Simon shook his head firmly. "I want to go."

After a moment's hesitation in which it seemed that she wanted to say something, Penny nodded.

"All right. We're leaving tomorrow."

 

The next morning, Simon was woken up gently by Snow and Baz. After a quicker-than-usual breakfast, the four got into Snow's car, Penny driving, Baz in the front passenger seat, and the two Simons in the back, watching a movie that Snow had downloaded onto his laptop specifically for this.

It was a short drive to the airport, only about an hour and a half, so the duo was left on a cliffhanger in their movie. They would have to finish it later.

When they came into the crowded halls, there were people talking and everything flashing, and Simon was reminded of the moment when he first came out of the fountain. Everything was  _too much,_ brain and eyes hurting, and he felt alone in a crowd of millions.

_Kill the beast! Kill the beast! Kill the beast!_

Simon pressed a hand to his forehead. Why did his brain have to remind him of that right now of all times?

_They're going to kill me, stab me, cut me, cut me, cut me..._

A hand, reaching out through the fog. Snow's.

"Hey, Simon," he said, bending down. "Are you okay?"

Simon nodded, even though the opposite was true.

"Do you want me to hold your hand? We need to pick up Spier soon. If you want, I can take you somewhere so that you can calm down while Baz and Penny go get him. I don't mind, honest."

Simon shook his head; with Snow's comfort, he didn't think that he'd need that.

"Just hold my hand," he whispered.

Snow nodded. "Of course."

Hand in hand, they rejoined the other two members of their group, Simon feeling better with every second of their walk.

 

**Snow**

Spier was tall, just a couple of inches shorter than Snow himself, and his blonde hair was messy, grayish bags under his framed hazel eyes from the long flight. He was wearing a shirt that looked as if it was way too big on him and gray baggy sweatpants, hands in their pockets as he looked around and smiled nervously.

"It's great to finally meet you." Snow spoke first, holding his hand out for him to shake. Spier took it almost too eagerly, nodding as Snow continued to speak.

"Simon Junior, Penny, Baz, this is Simon Spier. Do you mind us calling you Spier so that we don't confuse you?"

"No, of course not. The guys at school call me Spier all the time."

"Okay. Spier, you know I'm Snow, we've already established that I'm a Starbucks barista in London and not a bastard from the North, that's little Simon Junior over there, over there is my friend Penny...and that over there is my boyfriend Baz."

Snow had tried to be friendly with Simon Junior when talking about his sexuality, giving him allowances because he was an eleven-year-old from the 1950s, but Spier was a senior in high school in 2016. And so Snow looked at him with what just barely stayed behind the line of a glare, and he knew that Baz was giving the exact same look, practically daring Spier to say anything against it.

"Okay. Nice to meet all of you," said Spier casually. "Hey, Snow, does your phone plan cover international texting?"

"No, but I have Whatsapp installed. Why?"

"I promised to text my mom once I met up with you, but my phone died on the plane. And I'm pretty sure my friends and boyfriend want to know if I'm okay." There was an emphasis on the word  _boyfriend,_ so subtle that Snow wouldn't have noticed it if he weren't sizing up Spier's every sentence.

"Of course you can use it." Snow smiled both as a sign that he himself was reassured and to reassure Spier, who looked even more nervous than when he had first arrived.

Spier nodded and took it after Snow unlocked it and handed it to him. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Spier took about a minute to Whatsapp message everyone he needed to, then gave the phone back and checked that his own was securely in his pocket.

"Let's go?" Penny asked them, and they nodded.

"Let's go."

"I'm sorry I was so cold to you earlier," said Snow as they walked, approaching Spier from the side. In front of them, Baz talked to Penny and Simon Junior about something that they couldn't make out. "I was trying to size you up to see if you were homophobic or not, but I can see that I went about it the wrong way. I'm not usually like this, I promise."

Spier nodded. "I can understand that. To be honest, I was kind of paranoid, too. You never know."

"You're right," Snow agreed. "I was kinda worried about Simon Junior over there, to be honest, because he's from the - from a really religious Catholic school." That was true, too, and a much safer way of explaining it than him being from the fucking 1950s.

"He's good, though, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's good. Somehow escaped that indoctrination."

"I wish some of the kids at my school could do the same," Spier sighed. "I hear homophobic slurs thrown around a lot."

"It's sad," Snow burst out. "Can't people just treat other people with the respect that they deserve?"

"I know." Spier looked at him understandingly. "Live and let live. Don't fucking throw around offensive words that you don't understand the historical context of in the name of an imaginary being in the sky."

Around the time he said that, and when their eyes met in a moment of mutual comprehension of each other's struggles, was when Snow knew that he and Spier would grow to be good friends.

 

**Spier**

"This apartment is so crowded," Snow noted as he and his companions came into the house. "So many people. I'm sorry, Spier. I honestly wasn't expecting little Simon Junior to come. Would you mind sharing the living room with him? We have an inflatable mattress you can use."

"It's okay," Spier said, giving his new roommates a thumbs up. "I honestly don't mind."

Snow nodded and left the room, leaving the two youngest Simons alone.

"So," said Spier, holding out a hand for his namesake to shake. "I guess we're roommates now. It's lovely to meet you."

"Lovely to meet you, too," Simon Junior said with a smile. "I hope we can be friends."

"Of course we can, buddy." Spier ruffled Simon Junior's hair, then squatted down on his request so he could have his own hair ruffled.

"I'd better unpack my bags now. Talk to you later."

Spier opened his suitcases, laying out what he could, but keeping most of his clothes inside due to a lack of a closet to put them in. After texting his parents and boyfriend to tell them that he was okay, he flopped down onto the floor in exhaustion.

He had had a long day, and since he was intensely determined to spend as much time with his new friends as possible, he would have a long day tomorrow.

 

**Harrington**

According to the calendar that Snow and Spier had pinned to the fridge, on which anyone in the house could write important events that needed to be remembered, there were another couple of weeks before the school that Spier was being sent to would officially start. So, as a way to pass the time, Snow announced that they were going on a tour around the city of London.

Simon Junior jumped at the opportunity. Ever since he had been picked up by Snow and his friends, he hadn't gotten a chance to truly explore the city that he had once called home, usually opting to say in the apartment and read or take care of the plants whenever the rest of the household had to leave for any reason. Now, however, he felt a sudden pull to the streets, and so he bounced up with an uncharacteristic excitement on the morning that they had decided to leave.

" _You're_ excited," Spier remarked, changing from his pajamas into a shirt and jean shorts.

Simon Junior, filled with a sudden feeling of self-consciousness, brushed his hair at a slower rate. Spier laughed and placed an encouraging hand on shoulder.

"You looked worried, Si. It's okay. I'm excited, too. I mean,  _London!_ "

Simon Junior nodded. "I've grown up here all my life. Haven't gotten a chance to explore it with my friends for a long time, though."

That was true, technically, if not the complete story. And Simon Junior didn't think that he and Snow would ever trust Spier enough to tell him that.

The exploration of London itself lasted from early morning late into the night, none of the five willing to give it up and go home. There was just so much to show, as Snow gushed, and one day wouldn't be nearly enough to show it all.

But there would be more time, all of them were sure. More time to see all of the city in which they were staying.

Simon Junior wished that he knew what his companions were thinking. He himself was feeling first and foremost an overwhelming feeling of excitement, second of all happiness at having such great friends, and third an increasingly enormous awe at how much London had changed.

If he hadn't known that this was his own home city, he was almost completely sure that he wouldn't have recognized it at all. It was a booming capital, a trade center, a great city on epic proportion, and if Simon Junior was being honest with himself, he was scared.

He would have to adjust himself to fit in. He would have to transform himself from a boy that other people usually referred to as sweet and gentle, if a bit slow to conclusions, into yet another fast-paced businessman.

But then he looked around at the street artists, at all of the musicians and the gardeners and the grown-up versions of himself, and he saw how successful they were, and how happy, if not the richest.

 _Or maybe I won't have to,_ he thought to himself, clenching Snow's hand tighter.

Because in this modern-day world, in this modern-day city, anyone could be anything.

 

**Snow**

The evening of the Simons' day-long excursion, they decided to let loose for a while and eat fast food at a McDonald's before returning home. It was a rather uneventful meal, but Simon Junior learned that Spier could eat a Big Mac very quickly when the need arose. And, according to him, the need always arose.

"Holy sh- _oelace,_ " Snow said in awe as he looked across the table at him. "Are you hungry? Cause I'm pretty sure we packed food."

"Nope," Spier shrugged. "Just in love with British McDonald's."

"Is it any different from American?" Simon Junior asked curiously. "I wouldn't know, they almost never gave me McDonald's at the orphanage."

"They never gave you McDonald's?" Spier asked in fake shock.

In reality, 1950s McDonald's was very different from 2016 McDonald's. But Simon Junior obviously didn't want to say that.

"No, it's not very different, actually," Spier said after he "recovered." "I was expecting it to be on china plates with tea or something, but..."

Snow looked at him and raised an eyebrow, and Spier burst out into laughter.

"Well," said Snow, wrapping his arm around Simon Junior, "living with us, you're about to find out how much weight those stereotypes really hold."

Snow looked around at both Simon Junior and Simon Spier. This was going to be a fun couple of months.

 

**Spier**

Snow, Baz, and Penny had gone off to run errands, so Spier and Simon Junior were left alone in the apartment. For a time, they seemed to exist on opposing planes of existence, together and yet not so. Spier read a book, and Simon Junior tended to his plants, and neither of them spoke.

"Those are some pretty flowers."

Simon Junior nearly jumped into the air when Spier finally decided to speak. Almost instantly, Spier held out his hand in apology.

"Sorry, Si - can I call you that? I didn't mean to scare you."

Simon Junior smiled. "Don't worry, I get started easily. Not your fault."

Spier walked over to him and inspected the plant that he was watering. "What type of flower is it?"

"Oh, it's a geranium. They're my favorite, if I absolutely had to pick one. But I love all plants."

"I've never really thought about them, to be honest. But you seem to love them. I'd love to spend some time with you and talk about them."

"I'd love for you to spend some time with me, too. I can teach you everything."

"Yep."

After that they were silent once more. But then Spier had a flash of inspiration.

"You're shy, aren't you? It definitely seems like it from what I know about you."

Simon Junior smiled. "I've been told that. And I guess it's true. At the orphanage, everyone always made fun of me."

"My boyfriend is shy, too. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Don't let as - _bad people_ get you down, all right?"

"I'll try."

Spier placed his hand over Simon Junior's in a sign of solidarity. And that was when both of them knew that their friendship would be a good one.

 

**Harrington**

Now that school had started, and because the household had collectively decided to homeschool Simon Junior to avoid paperwork issues and potential exposure of magic, the other two Simons didn't see much of Spier. His days that were usually filled with play and hangouts were now filled with schoolwork and books, and although he seemed like he was good at managing his time, he very rarely got the chance to spend as much time with his host family as he would have wanted.

Even so, the group had fun; they bonded over their many shared interests, and during the weekends when Spier had minimal homework, they continued their trips around London to parks, museums, and so forth. Simon Junior continued musing about how London was different, and though Spier would be incredibly confused if he said that to him, Snow understood when Simon Junior vented about it frequently during their conversations.

"It's just so weird," he said, leaning against a table as he spoke. "It's only been, what, a couple of decades? And already, things are so different. It's really weird."

"It really is, isn't it?" Snow asked, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Obviously I don't know how you feel, but _wow._ London is really changing quickly. Who knows, by the time we're both old men we'll have hoverboards."

They laughed; even though technology was growing, it couldn't be growing _that_ quickly. But the idea was still funny to think about.

 

**Snow**

Time moved more quickly than Snow could possibly handle in those weeks when Spier was with them. Every day felt like an adventure, whether it was a time to introduce his friends to his city or a time to introduce himself - different, surprising aspects of both his and their personality - to his friends. And although bonding with his fellow Simons, who by this point were almost like family, was a good feeling, he was also more scared than he would ever tell anyone.

Because at the end of the semester, even if Simon Junior didn't - _couldn't_ , unless he found a new family or simply decided to run away - leave, Spier would for sure. And he honestly didn't know what he would do without one of his best new friends by his side.

It was true that if both of them agreed to it, they would have phone numbers and Skype usernames and e-mail addresses and so forth. But it just wouldn't be the same.

The fact of it scared Snow more than he could possibly say. And so he poured himself into hanging out with his friends while they were there, and he was better at the act than he had ever been.

 

**Spier**

 

"Let's have a sleepover."

The three Simons were sitting in the living room in silence - Baz and Penny were away for the weekend doing errands - but they all looked over at Spier when he spoke.

"What?" Snow asked. "We already live in the same house."

Spier shrugged. "I don't know. I think it'd be fun. We make cookie dough, we order pizza, we spend the whole day together bonding..."

For a long time the group was silent. But then, almost in unison, they nodded and smiled.

"Let's do it."

So all afternoon, they walked around London again, marveling at the usual sights and eating at their usual places, and then when it was time to eat dinner, they ordered pizza and made cookie dough while waiting for it to arrive. The trio ate while watching movies using Spier's Netflix account, and after they were too tired to do anything else, they just lay down in a circle in their sleeping bags in complete, relaxed silence. And it was in that relaxation that Simon Junior made the most important decision that he had made in his life.

"Spier...I have a confession to make. Snow, I think you know what I'm going to say, so is it all right if I say it?"

Snow hesitated. But then he nodded. And so Simon Junior spoke.

"Okay. We're both magical. Snow, Baz, and Penny are part of a school of magic in England-"

"I'm actually not anymore," Snow cut in. "My magic was weird. It's a long story."

"And I," Simon Junior continued, "actually time travelled here from the '50s."

Everything was silent. Simon Junior shuddered slightly, afraid that perhaps Spier didn't believe him or his friend. But then, he felt a comforting hand on this shoulder.

"This story is crazy," Spier said with a smile on his face, "but I believe you. I trust you guys. You're my friends."

"Thanks," Simon Junior whispered. And after that, everything was silent again.

 

**Harrington**

Suddenly, in the silence, Simon Junior decided to speak.

"I have something to tell you guys. It's something that's been bothering me ever since my time on the island."

"The island?" Spier asked, tilting an eyebrow. Simon Junior gave him a quick account of what had happened to him and the rest of the island boys, up until the moment that they had killed him on that sandy shore. By the end of it, Spier's eyes were as wide as saucers as Simon Junior continued to speak.

"I just wish I could have talked to the others," he sighed. "I don't even know what we'd talk about. Maybe just catch up, maybe they would apologize and I would apologize...I don't know. I just wish we could have just one conversation. Just one. That's all I need."

"Wait, when did you say this happened?" Spier asked. "As in, what year are you from?"

"1954," Simon Junior and Snow said at the same time.

"Based on your age, they might be alive," Spier said. "Really, really old, but alive. Maybe we could try and track them down? Surely with the Internet we should be able to find them. What do you think, Junior? Are you up for it?"

A pause. And then, Simon Junior spoke again.

"Let's do it."

 

**Snow/Spier**

It took weeks to track down the people, and during those weeks, the team worked tirelessly. Even Baz and Penny helped, once they came back. But even so, it seemed as if they were nowhere in the vast depths of both the Internet and the world. But not once did the team give up, because the cause was more important to them than any other cause had been.

 

**Harrington**

Simon Junior was sitting in his room, reading yet another book. But it was obvious if one looked at him closely that he was on edge; he clutched his book, knuckles turning white, and he shook softly.

_What if we don't find them?_

Simon Junior so wanted to see his friends. Yes, they had killed him, but he had already accepted that that was all right. After all, they didn't know who he truly was, and if they had, then they would never have done such a thing. And he _especially_ wanted to say hello to Ralph and Piggy. Those were the two people who had been the kindest to him.

Weeks passed like this, and finally, Snow came to Simon Junior's door, grin splitting his face wide open.

"We couldn't find some of the people you named," he explained, leaning against the doorway. "Jack and Roger are in prison, some others didn't want to talk to you, but we have someone named Maurice and someone named Percival, as well as..."

He named some people whom Simon Junior didn't recognize, then some whom he recognized from the choir.

"...and Ralph. He's actually available right now. Do you want to talk to him?"

Simon Junior put his book down and stood up ghost-like. It seemed surreal, almost, the prospect of finally seeing the people he missed so much, but he didn't want to throw it away.

Without a word, Snow handed Simon Junior his computer, which had Skype open. And there, he saw the face of his friend.

Ralph was _old._ Simon Junior knew that he should have expected that - decades had passed since the island - but it still felt weird to see him with gray hair and wrinkly skin. But the soft smile on his face was still the same, and his eyes - a bright, piercing blue - still shone with an inescapable light. Simon's mind flashed back to the island, and that very thought warmed him inside.

"Simon?" Ralph asked, tears obviously choking him. "How...how are you alive?"

"I was magically transported after I died. And then I found these guys. And they found you."

Ralph took a hitched breath that he let out in a gasp. "Simon, I'm so sorry, so sorry..."

"You didn't know," Simon whispered, wishing that he could hug Ralph in person. "You didn't know. It's okay. You didn't know."

"But if we had..."

"Now you do."

Simon clutched the screen of the laptop with one hand, closing his eyes to squeeze out the tears that were choking him. "Now you do."

"Now I do," Ralph repeated, voice soft. "And now, I get to see you again."

"Now I get to see you again."

 

**Snow**

Simon Junior walked around with an excitement that Snow had never seen before. He kept partaking in his usual activities, like his plants and his friends and his books, but now he was eager to log on to Snow's computer and call Ralph and ask him about his life. Snow was happy with this new development, but it was also strange to him.

The young boy showed his friends only a couple of his conversations. The rest, he said, were to private to ever tell anyone, and no one who wasn't on the island could ever understand them.

One day, Snow was reading a book in his room when Simon Junior came in and tugged on his sleeve, eyes wide and glimmering with brightness.

"What is it?"

"Snow, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, of course. Hop on here, and you can tell me whatever you need to."

"How did you know that you...liked boys?"

"It started with me liking Baz. I never thought I did, but when I kissed him, and we kept talking, I realized that I did. Why?"

"I think I might like boys. I remember back when I knew young Ralph on the island, I thought he was beautiful. And I wanted to kiss him. I never thought I felt that way, but I'm realizing it now, and..."

"That's okay. It's totally, totally okay to like boys. Are you still figuring it out, or are you sure?"

"I'm still trying to decide if I like girls. I don't think so. I've never felt the way I felt about Ralph about a girl."

"That's okay, too. You can like both. Don't forget that. It's called 'bisexual.'"

Simon Junior flopped back against his pillow. "I don't think I am. But I don't know."

"Well, no one's rushing you," Snow said, ruffling his hair. "Take all the time you need, love. Take all the time you need."

Simon Junior smiled. "Thank you."

"Any time."

 

**Spier**

Spier was sitting in his room, working meticulously on his homework, when he heard a knock on the door. When he stepped forward and opened it, Simon Junior stood there, hands clenched tightly in front of him.

"Yeah? What's up, buddy?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?"

"About...Ralph."

Spier stepped aside to let Simon Junior in, and the boy walked forward and sat shyly on the bed.

"I've been talking to him. About how much things changed. How he's been holding up since the island."

"How has he been holding up since the island?"

"Not well at first. But he recovered eventually. Me walking into his life was quite a change for him."

"I can imagine."

"And...I've been remembering him. How he was on the island. He was so strong and powerful. Like some kind of golden statue instead of a person. Only he was real. He was always real. He always tried his hardest to help everyone. Including me."

Spier sat there nodding encouragingly, not entirely sure what to say. It seemed as if the boy was not in his bedroom but far, far away, decades and decades ago.

"I think I was in love back then. But I didn't realize it. Not until now."

Again, Spier said nothing. There was nothing to say that would fit perfectly, and anything other than perfection seemed...wrong somehow. He didn't know.

"I'll accept you, and so will everyone else," he said eventually. "I promise. You'll always have us."

Simon Junior looked over at him and smiled. Spier smiled back.

And then, they sat in the silence for a long, long time.

 

**Harrington**

When Simon Junior realized that he was indeed gay, he came out to Baz and Penny at the same time. Both of them were accepting and kind, throwing him a mini coming-out party, and the young boy felt grateful that he had managed to have such good people as friends. After a little bit’s hesitation, he eventually felt brave enough to come out to his other friends, the ones he met through art conventions that Snow and Spier took him to. As a whole, he had noticed, arts communities tended to be more accepting than usual.

It took him at least a week to work up the courage to come out to Ralph. When he finally did, he was alone in the room, and he clutched the sofa under him like his life depended on it.

“Hey, Si,” Ralph said cheerily at the beginning of the call. “You said you had something to tell me?”

“Yeah. The thing is, I’m gay. I realized it a little while ago.”

Ralph smiled. “I’m glad you realized that about yourself. I’m proud of you. Remember, it’s completely okay.”

“Would I tell you about it if it wasn’t?”

“Good point. I’m bisexual myself. Didn’t realize it until I first started dating my wife.”

Ralph was so happy that Simon decided to tell him the other thing, the one he had left unsaid for so, so long.

“Back on the island…I had a crush on you. I didn’t realize that that was what it was, but I did. You were so kind, and so smart, and so amazing…”

Simon trailed off. Anything more seemed awkward and uncomfortable.

Ralph looked down and away from the screen, running a hand through his graying hair, just as he had so many times in his youth.

“I did, too,” he whispered, obviously choking back tears. “Back on the island, I loved you, too. I never imagined that you would have felt the same way. Ever.”

They couldn’t be in a relationship now, even in the modern, more accepting world; Ralph was an old married man, and Simon was a young boy. But he knew from the gleam in his friend’s eyes that he was content with that.

They were miles away within the same country, so far away that they couldn’t meet in person. But in that moment, they were so close that they might as well have been in the same room.

 

**Snow/Spier**

A little while before Christmas was when Spier’s semester stay ended, and he was forced to leave London and go back to his home in Georgia. The entirety of the little household was in the airport when they said goodbye, not even bothering to wipe away tears.

“Don’t forget to WhatsApp us,” Snow murmured, squeezing Spier tightly.

They had already exchanged every contact information possible. It was practically a given that they would stay in touch and be friends for a long, long time.

“I won’t. I promise. Especially on New Year’s Eve. Y’all better not spoil 2017 for me.”

Snow laughed. “I promise I won’t.”

Spier knelt down and ruffled Simon Junior’s hair. “Keep doing what you’re doing, okay, little guy? Don’t let anyone stop you or restrain you.”

Simon Junior smiled. With every second that he had spent with his new friends, the willingness to be who he wasn’t had slowly faded away into nothingness. He didn’t need approval from outsiders; he already had it.

Boarding of the flight was announced once again, and Spier wrapped the London crew into one final group hug.

“I’ll miss you guys so much.”

“We’ll miss you too.”

But none of them would forget the last couple of months. They would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

 

**Harrington/Snow**

It was a lonely time without Spier. But slowly, the rest of the crew got used to it. They celebrated Christmas and New Year’s as pretty much a family, and Simon Junior even brought a few of his art friends and Skyped up Ralph. Spier joined the group call as well, a couple of his friends and siblings in the background. All in all, Simon Junior would have said that it was the best holiday season that he had ever had.

It was only in the beginning of January, when Snow resumed Simon Junior’s homeschooling, that everything seemed to go downhill.

“I think I’m getting pulled toward that fountain,” Simon Junior explained to Snow while they were walking around the city. “You know, the one you found me in?”

Snow tilted his head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Simon Junior took a deep breath before beginning to explain. “Well, back when I was on the island, I felt a pull to the swimming pool. And then when I stepped inside, it was the portal that led me here.”

“I don’t think it’s anything,” Snow murmured. But even he didn’t sound at all convinced.

“Can we go back to that fountain anyway? If it looks like the portal that brought me here, then I’m right. All right?”

Snow bit his lip to choke back a sob but reluctantly nodded.

The fountain glowed yellow. Simon Junior could barely resist a helpless wail when he realized it.

“I think this means I have to go,” he whispered when Snow knelt down to him. “I’ll do it tomorrow. After I say goodbye.”

Thankfully, Snow didn’t try to argue. He understood, most likely, that something like this was beyond anyone’s control.

He took Simon Junior home. The whole ride, they silently leaned into each other.

 

That night, both Simons explained the situation to the rest of the household, Ralph, and Spier. Each word was like a blow to the heart, forcing out tears and tissues and pain. And the next morning, Snow and Simon Junior went to the fountain alone.

Everything that could be said in that moment already had been. Only a tight hug was exchanged between them. And then, Simon Junior stepped into the fountain and disappeared forever.

 

He floated through the water, spinning into the sea, just the body of a boy leaving the uncivilized world. But there was a difference this time.

In a way, his features were brighter, and there was a satisfied stillness in the lines of his soft face. Because Simon Harrington knew that even if things were dark now, and even if they would be dark forever, rays of light would always shine through and illuminate the world.


End file.
